Customer Reviews

The Lantern Bearers

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I feel strangely unsatisfied with this book. I liked the attention to detail and atmosphere as well as the historical context and references, especially to 'Artos' and his father 'Utha' - very subtly done. There were some moments of incredible bitter-sweetness, such as when Aquila watches the Romans leave without him at Rutupiae Light.The characters were well-drawn, a few lines of description necessary to give a good impression of each. There's nothing to really criticise; it was a very solid piece of work. However, I certainly wouldn't want to re-read it - I wonder why? I think perhaps the main character, Aquila, just didn't click with me. His bleakness and bitterness was understandable but it meant he never really interacted with any other characters as a friend - deliberately done, but it made for quite monotonous reading. We never saw closely into any other characters; there were brief, well-written encounters with people, but nothing very fulfilling. I find that I enjoy a book most if it has good characterisation, and while Aquila was sufficiently bitter for his role, I found him lifeless (perhaps I was meant to? I certainly didn't enjoy reading about him though...) and the other characters not well fleshed-out enough. Years and events flashed by, and before I knew it Aquila was getting old, and I still didn't really know him, or the people around him, even his wife. Events were sketched over and I never felt caught up in the story entirely because of the jumps forward in time. However, there was a lot of beautful imagery in this book, right down to the last sentence; that's what kept me reading.

Although the third book in the trilogy about the family with the dolphin ring, The Lantern Bearers is maybe for more mature readers.
(Notice I said more mature, NOT older.) One of the things I love most about this book is that, even though it is sad, the sadness is REAL, not Romeo-and-Juliet type, with a tragic ending. The ending is not exactly hopeful about the future of England, but Aquila has finally found inner peace. However, the middle, in which Aquila is a slave of the Jutes (not Saxons, that's just what the British called all the invaders), and when he- oops! Don't want to give away the story!- is very bitter, and that's why it's perhaps for MORE MATURE readers. This book is one of Rosemary Sutcliff's best.

I am an avid adult reader of Arthurian legends. I read this book after hearing it is a prequel to The Sword at Sunset, also by Rosemary Sutcliff, and I loved it. I am captivated by the romance and chivalry of this passionate era in our history - and also by the great battle scenes as described by the better authors of this legend (Bernard Cornwell in particular). This book kept my adult interest and made me more anxious than ever to get to The Sword of Sunset...a continuation of the story line in The Lantern Bearers where a young Artos is introduced to us - and by the end of the book can be recognized as the great King Arthur to come.

Set in the brief Romano-Celtic twilight between the end of the Roman Empire and the creation of Anglo-Saxon Britain, this is the story of Aquila, a Roman soldier who chooses to stay among his adopted people. However, his world crashes to pieces when he and his sister are enslaved by the Saxons, their father slain and their farm destroyed. Aquila eventually escapes, but his sister, now married with a Saxon son, makes her own choice to stay with the invaders. Aquila is embittered and angry, and the remainder of the story is his redemption, helped by a kindly priest, his celtic wife from an arranged maarriage, and the Romano-British leader, Ambrosius, whose friend he becomes. I first read this book in my early teens, and it has stayed with me ever since. The themes of irreparable loss, vengance and redemption are quite adult, but not at such a level that adult or teen cannot appreciate them. Sutcliffe brilliantly captures the heroic twilight of the Dark Ages, and makes it utterly convincing. She also wrote a longer sequel called "Sword at Sunset" (use the out-of-print service) based on the Arthur legends - Aquila appears as a minor (older) character, Arthur appears as a young warrior Artos in "Lantern Bearers". Both books are highly recommended for adults, "The Lantern Bearers" for teens and adults.

This is the best of Rosemary Sutcliff! Everybody should read this. It is a captivating tale set in 450 A.D. I first read it when I was 12, and I still enjoy it. Adults will enjoy this book as much, if not more than kids!

With this book I began my search and exploration of the Roman world. I heartily recommend it for any brave teen wishing to join himself to that faraway world. It has been over forty years since I have read this book, however, it seems just like yesterday. I thank Ms. Sutcoliffe for this pleasure for it has propelled me on a wondrous avocation. Ave, Avila.

I cannot hope to match the eloquence of the previous reviews, but I agree with them completely. I first read The Lantern Bearers in my teens; I am now in my thirties and still find myself drawn to this book. I would add that all of Ms. Sutcliff's books written for juveniles make compelling reading for adults. In fact, for intelligence and beauty, they surpass most contemporary fiction.

Wonderful story of Aquila, a young Roman cavalryman who chooses to remain in Britain after Rome recalls her armies to defend her crumbling frontiers. His friendship and loyalty to his sister is tested through captivity by the invading Saxons. Aquila joins the legendary leader Ambrosius in his fight to preserve the last dregs of Roman civilization in Britain against the invading Saxon barbarians. He meets the boy who becomes the even more legendary Arthur. This story is a excellent prequel to Sutcliff's best book: Sword At Sunset.

How do I put this? Sublime, perhaps? Romemary Sutcliff wonthe Carnegie Medal for this book in 1959, and it well deserved it. I first read The Lantern Bearers as a school text, and was enthralled by the high adventure and the evocative story. I have read it three or four times in the six years since then, and each time I have read it differently. Do not be put off by the fact that The Lantern Bearers is a children's book; the language is simple, but the story is not. Sutcliffe has created a multi-layered masterpiece, at once an historical adventure, an exploration of the heights and depths of the human experience and - I believe - a searching social critique. It is easily my favourite novel. Read it!

If you like sorrow, action, and adventure, you will love the book The Lantern Bearers. It is one of many great historical fiction books by Rosemary Sutcliff. This is a wonderful book about Aquila, a man in the Middle Ages, who fights alongside Ambrosis, the prince of Britain.
There were many different settings in The Lantern Bearers. They were all in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon period like Ullasfjord with its harsh winters, and Arfon with its beautiful mountains. Some of these settings put me "in the book". For example, when Aquila was in Ullasfjord, I could almost feel the blizzards!
I liked some parts of this book more than others. In some parts of the book it is a little too slow. I liked the book because most parts are exciting, like when Aquila gets married. Also it is descriptive: the author describes the characters well, like the detail of the dolphin on Aquila's shoulder. You may or may not like this book, but you will still want to read it again!